Alix Kunkle: People have no regard for their safety

Friday

Apr 27, 2012 at 12:01 AMApr 27, 2012 at 2:46 PM

As I was driving home, I was stopped at a railroad crossing. The end of the train was stopped on the crossing, but there was enough room on the end for a car to maneuver around the gate and make it to the other side of the crossing.

Alix Kunkle

I had every intention of writing this week's column about how Robert Griffin III was going to be the better quarterback, and how the Cleveland Browns were silly for giving up on the Colt McCoy era already.

But then I witnessed something last night that blew my mind.

As I was driving home, I was stopped at a railroad crossing. The end of the train was stopped on the crossing, but there was enough room on the end for a car to maneuver around the gate and make it to the other side of the crossing.

How do I know there was enough room? I saw someone do just that — maneuver around the gates and drive over the crossing. Not just one person, either. Three cars did this in a 10-minute span.

While I understand some people are impatient, and to their defense, it's not their fault the railroad company doesn't pay attention to how long they are blocking a crossing. I've stated before, I am a supporter of moving our truck traffic back to the rails, but I also feel that they have to be respectful to motorists. That whole issue is another argument for another day.

However, I cannot find a rational explanation for why three motorists thought it was a safe idea to cross a railroad crossing while the gates were down and a train was right there. Just because the train is stopped, that does not mean it's safe to cross.

First off, it was not an easy task for these motorists to navigate around these crossing arms. It was a very slow and methodical procedure, and I'd be willing to bet the driver was more concerned with making sure his car didn't fall off the edge of the crossing than he was whether another train was coming. Or whether the train that was stopped suddenly started moving. It's not always apparent that a train is going to start moving until, well, it starts moving. With the engines on the other end of the train, over a mile away, it's not easy to hear a few loud blasts of the whistle.

What happens if that train starts moving, and the motorist gets stuck? Now everyone is stuck with a disabled vehicle and a crossing that's going to be blocked well into the night. If there's someone in the front passenger seat, they're probably going to have to go to the hospital with, at the least, moderate injuries. Even if it's moving at only a few miles per hour, that train is still going to do a good chunk of damage to a car. The videos on Youtube don't do enough justice of what a train can really do.

Not to mention, driving around an active, lit crossing gate is illegal. I don't care if there's no cops around or not. It's illegal. I almost wonder if people are quickly grasping the mindset of only obeying the laws they feel apply to them.

And if we're taking this kind of a mindset, we need to take a long, hard look at what we're doing — because the majority of our laws apply to all of us — not just those who believe it does.

Our police officers do a wonderful job. But they don't have time to just sit at a railroad crossing every day and "babysit" drivers who maneuver the crossing.

We have to look out for ourselves. It's up to us, as individuals, to make sure we're practicing safety around the crossings.

Because if not, I hate to put it so bluntly, but someone is going to die.

Alix Kunkle is the news editor of the Leesville (La.) Daily Leader. You may contact him at news@leesvilledailyleader.com.

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